


Atlas and Everything After

by synvamp



Category: RWBY
Genre: CW: mentions of Chpt 12, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Swearing, loving all of you, not just the parts you think have value
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28869402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/synvamp/pseuds/synvamp
Summary: or Take the Damn ComplimentQrow’s fragile sense of self is slowly getting stronger… being built in bricks made of compliments and loving gestures. Clover can always make him feel better but he starts to wonder if there is something dark underneath those beautiful, nourishing words. How can he make Clover realise his worth is not just in what he can do for other people?
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 12
Kudos: 38





	Atlas and Everything After

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShadowCrusade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowCrusade/gifts).



> This fic was absolutely NOT written to call out Shady on their wit, charm, meme parkour, writing talent and sheer glory. Nor do I encourage you to go to their author page here, read their fic, and call them out also. 
> 
> Mwahahahahahahaha *cough* wow that evil laugh is hard on the throat.
> 
> Shady, this is what happens when you make me 7000 memes telling me how good my writing is and then refuse to admit that yours is just as awesome. ADMIT IT. 
> 
> I’LL WAIT.
> 
> X’D

\---xxx---

The little twinge of pain shot down his arm and left a sparkle of nerves in its wake, jagged like broken glass. Gone were the days when every breath felt like it would rip him in two… but sometimes he wondered if this was worse.

Sometimes Clover would go days without one of these stark little reminders. Just enough time to start to forget the bitterness. The regret. How much he hated himself sometimes. And then in a ripple of pain that blazed in his chest, it all came back. Rising like a tidal wave. So all-encompassing he felt like it could crush him.

How many bad decisions had he made in his life? Thousands?

But then you make one mistake, _one mistake_ right when it mattered. A big one.

And nothing is ever the same.

Now he would be forever a bit less of a man. It seemed fitting. He acted like a robot instead of following his heart and now, a small, important part of him would be forever cast in metal. Unfeeling. Inflexible.

_Just like me._

\---xxx---

The days in Patch were hot and long, summer evenings stretching out into gentle, mild nights. The last notes of sunset still painted the clouds with streaks of violet and Qrow could smell jasmine on the breeze. Even after all this time, it still felt like home.

Qrow heard the door latch shut behind him, the heavy tread of Clover’s boots reverberating through the deck. A mug of hot chocolate was pressed into his hand and teal eyes twinkled with joy.

“I can’t believe how many flowers there are here! Everything is so colourful,” Clover said, sitting down on the porch steps beside him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much green.”

“You said you came to Patch once before though, right?”

“Ah, it was a training exercise. Hardly counts. I can’t even remember the last time I had a holiday.”

“Me either,” Qrow said. Up until now, holidays had just been time to think and that was the last thing he needed. Mission after mission had chewed up his time, kept him from thinking too long or too deeply about where he could have been… in another life.

The last notes of bird song hung in the still air and Qrow sighed. Dark thoughts still swirled in his mind. No matter how perfect and peaceful things were, he was a misery.

_Poor Clover. Stuck here with a depressed mess on his only holiday in years. After everything that happened, it doesn’t seem fair._

“Hey,” Clover’s voice was soft beside him. Qrow looked up and a gentle hand stroked lightly across his cheek.

“Hey,” Qrow smiled sadly.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“They’re not worth it.”

“Allow me to be the judge of that,” Clover smiled.

“It’s nothing. I’m just sick of being a misery guts. Everything is so good, you know? The kids are ok, you’re _alive_ , even Tai has finally calmed down… why can’t I just be happy for once?!”

“Qrow,” Clover said, shifting to wrap an arm around his waist. “It’s not like you decided to be sad. Trauma builds over time. What you’ve been through is… well, it’s horrific and I think you’re doing amazingly well. You don’t have to be sunshine and rainbows for me. I’m just happy to be here with you. You’re enough, just as you are. You always were.”

Qrow blinked, a little startled. A small smile slowly formed as he realised Clover had done it again. Patched his broken heart with a dozen perfect words of comfort. Healed him just a little bit more.

“There it is,” Clover said warmly, “I love your smile.” He leaned close and pressed a light kiss to Qrow’s cheek, his holiday stubble rough against Qrow’s skin.

“You love everything about me,” Qrow said dismissively.

“Yes, I do.”

_And this is why I can finally have a holiday. Why I can still love with the broken pieces of heart I have left. Because this man is sturdy and dependable and good. And insane enough to love me, for some reason._

“You always make me feel better,” Qrow said, feeling like his words were not enough.

“I’m glad to hear it. You deserve to be happy, Qrow.”

Qrow started to say _I don’t know about that_ … but he stopped. This wasn’t about him anymore. Clover needed to know how much this meant – the slow and steady trickle of love which had become a reason to get up in the morning. A reason to smile. A reason to breathe in and out. Brothers, some days he’d needed it.

“Clover…”

“Uh-oh, am I in trouble?” Clover chuckled.

“No, why?” Qrow huffed, leaning into the heat of his embrace.

“You never, ever call me _Clover_. I feel like I’ve been called to the principal’s office.”

Qrow chuckled, “No, no lucky charm I was just trying to be serious. I guess I’m outta practice.”

“Serious?” Clover asked, a little pensive note in his voice.

“I… want to tell you how much you mean to me. How much this means to me… Not the holiday… the… words…” Qrow said, flailing. “I… spent my life running away and for the first time, I feel like I have something to run _towards._ Someone to come home to. You even… crap how do people do this?! I feel so stupid.”

“Just take a breath. You don’t have to keep going, I understand.” Soft lips brushed his hair and Qrow closed his eyes against the swell in his chest.

“No… I wanna say it… You’re amazing. You actually make me feel good about myself and honestly, I never have. I don’t think, you know… I never thought _I would_. You make me feel like I’m _worth loving_ and that’s more than I could have ever dreamed.”

Clover’s arm pulled him closer, “It’s easy to love you, feathers. I don’t know why it took you so long. A guy like you should be totally up himself. I mean have you seen you?! You’re breathtaking for a start…”

“Stop it,” Qrow muttered.

“Won’t,” Clover chuckled, “and you’re strong, fierce, loyal, truthful, smart, generous… I could talk all night and not even get through half the reasons I fell in love with you.”

“It’s not about me,” Qrow protested.

“Everything is about you, to me.”

“But…” Qrow moved away. He put his drink down and turned so he could look again into those beautiful teal eyes, “do you know how amazing _you_ are?”

“I’m happy to bask in your reflected glory,” Clover grinned.

“No, it’s not my glory! Clover, look at me.”

“I’m still getting a decided principal’s office vibe,” Clover said.

“Admit you’re amazing. I wanna hear it.”

“I’m amazing,” Clover said. A muscle in his eye twitched and Qrow saw something flicker in his eyes.

“I’m not feeling super convinced here, boy scout.”  
  


“How could I be anything but amazing if I managed to score a boyfriend like you, hmmm?”

“Hmmmm,” Qrow grumbled. It wasn’t good but it would do, at least until he had a better strategy. So for now, he wrapped his arms around Clover’s shoulders and held him close, losing his fears in the warmth of Clover’s arms. Arms that were always open and always strong.

\---xxx---

“Clover can dish it out but he can’t seem to take it!” Qrow said, exasperated.

Tai’s head popped around the corner, where they sat at the breakfast bar in the early morning sunshine. “Uh, Qrow is this a conversation you should be having with my daughter?”

“Dad, no!” Yang screamed, clutching her stomach.

Qrow blinked and turned a shade of pink which he hadn’t donned for quite some time. “We’re talking about compliments, Tai,” he deadpanned.

“Oh, _compliments!_ Well, that’s ok I guess. Don’t tell me you’ve finally found his weakness?!”

“I guess so,” Qrow said, propping his elbows on the bench and putting his chin in his hands. “I tried to tell him how much he’s done for me but he always just turns it around on me like some kind of compliment battle!”

“Man does hate losing,” Tai chuckled. They had played a few rounds of mini-golf the day before and it had nearly erupted into a full-blown war.

Qrow tried to smile but he was genuinely concerned. “I… think he still feels guilty about what happened…”

“When he teamed up with a serial killer to arrest you?! Well he should!” Yang said, metal fist landing on the bench with a thump.

“Yang, it’s more complex than that… and you know it,” Tai chastised gently.

“Yeah, I guess… he’s ok I suppose…” Yang teased.

“He’s incredible,” Qrow sighed, his face painted with adoration.

“ _Gross_ ,” Yang said, putting her coffee cup not-so-subtly over the dent she’d made in the benchtop.

“Yeah, _gross_ Qrow,” Tai chimed.

“Come on! I’m crap at this, you both managed to have healthy relationships, throw me a damn bone. How can I make him realise what he’s done for me?”

“I always just come out with it! Straight up and straight out. Honesty is the best policy!” Yang said with a decisive nod.

Qrow frowned. He’d tried that! Clover kept dodging like a freaking compliment ninja.

Tai thumped him on the arm, “I’m sure you could think of a more _personal_ way to show him what he means to you?” his brows wiggled like two drunk caterpillars at a disco.

“Ugh! I am not staying for this,” Yang said, leaping off her stool. “I’m sure you’ll be fine, Qrow. He loves you. If you say it’s important to you, he’ll listen.” She waved over her shoulder and strode off.

“She has a point,” Tai said.

“I guess I just have to figure out what to say,” Qrow swallowed.

“The easy part!” Tai laughed.

“Yeah.Yay.”

\---xxx---

That night, Qrow lay awake.

He could hear the crickets chirping and the frogs in the little pond over the fence. Everything was peaceful and still… except for the turbulence writhing in his chest.

_This is stupid; it’s not a big deal. Someone like Clover would have to know how great they are, right? How could he not? There’s no point getting worked up over this._

But try as he might, he couldn’t sleep. The look in Clover’s eyes when he said ‘I’m amazing’ haunted him. His mouth had smiled, yes but his eyes… Qrow had seen that look in the mirror. He knew he had.

“Can’t sleep?” a soft voice floated out into the darkness.

“Bad dream,” Qrow lied. They’d both had them ever since Atlas. Qrow wondered if they’d ever stop. “Clover…”

“I knew it. I _am_ in trouble.”

“No, you’re not! Just…” Qrow moved across and those arms which had become his home wrapped around him, “I’m worried about you. I know I wear my heart on my sleeve a little but you’re always so calm… I don’t know what you’re thinking. Are you ok?”

Two beats of silence told Qrow more than every word Clover had spoken in the past few months.

“I’m fine, Qrow. Please, you don’t need to worry about me,” Clover said. Warm lips pressed into his hair.

“I know you’re not. You don’t have to be! I don’t want you to just fake it all the time because you think it makes me happy. I want to be here for you too, Cloves,” Qrow was startled to feel a tear slide down his face. He caught it before it landed on Clover’s chest. Now was not the time.

“You are,” Clover said, his voice strangely hollow in the dark.

“I’m not. I don’t do enough! You said that you’re amazing but you don’t believe it. What can I do to make you believe it? No one ever gave a fuck about me before you. I was a tool to be used, an inconvenience to be avoided… you made me feel real again. Like I mattered. I want you to feel that way too.”

“You do matter.”

“You matter too! Please don’t just dismiss it.”

The darkness was oppressive. Qrow wanted to flick on the lamp, look at Clover’s face… see what expression went with this deep silence. But he waited. Maybe with time to think…

His fingers curled on Clover’s chest as he moved closer, giving comfort with his skin where words had failed him. Clover flinched as his fingers brushed the edge of the metal plate. Qrow grimaced and moved his hand away.

“What if it happens again?” Clover said.

“What if… what happens again?”

The chest heaved and a ragged breath shook through him.

“What if I make another decision like that? I never thought I could be so stupid but _I can_. What if it happens again? What if next time it’s you, not me?”

“Everyone makes mistakes,” Qrow said, his words sounding trite even as they left his lips.

“ _Exactly_.”

“I know you won’t do it again. Not something like that. You’re not the man you used to be. James… he went too far and his momentum nearly took you with him. You were caught up in a storm… it won’t happen again.”

“But now I can’t trust myself,” Clover said. His words were heavy, flat. Empty of emotion. Bare of everything except truth.

“I trust you.”

“ _Don’t_.”

Qrow lifted his head as tears rolled down his cheeks. He cradled Clover’s face in the dark. “Don’t say that. I trust you with my life, Cloves. Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then you don’t have to trust yourself. Trust _me_. Trust my opinion. Trust my faith in you.”

“You’re a little biased,” Clover said. Qrow could hear the tiniest hint of a smile in his voice and his heart swelled in his chest.

“I’m a lot biased. But I’m also a snarky asshole who hates everyone and I love you. _Only you._ One in a million. Now repeat after me…”

“Qrow…”

“Come on! I will tickle you if I have to.”

“I’m not ticklish,” Clover declared.

“Elm told me to go for the soles of your feet,” Qrow said smugly as he finally pressed a wet kiss to the hidden lips.

“Traitor!” Clover muttered, returning the kiss. “Qrow, you’re crying…”

“My face is just leaky. Sometimes when I think about stupid himbos who don’t realise how amazing they are I get a little emotional.”

Clover wiped his tears away in the dark. “I… I’ll try to remember that one choice doesn’t have to define me… maybe if you can forgive me…”

“It’s time you forgave yourself? Yeah, I reckon. I’m kinda happy though…”

“Yes?”

“I finally found your weakness!”

“Compliments?”

“I was thinking the foot tickles but yeah, that too.” Qrow leaned his forehead against Clover’s, his finger stroked the line of his jaw. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“But… I don’t just love the part of you that makes me feel good about myself. I love _all of you_. The broken bits, the sad bits, even the bit that made _one_ bad decision. I’m basically a walking bad decision so it’s nice to know it’s not just me. Now repeat after me… I am Clover Ebi and I’m amazing and my ass is amazing and I make good decisions.”

“Do I have to?”  
  


“Yes. You’re lucky I’m not recording this.”

“I am Clover Ebi and I’m the luckie..”

“No, no going off the script!”

Clover kissed him softly. “I am Clover Ebi. I’m amazing. My ass is amazing. And I make good decisions. And you are the best one yet.” A slow, shaky breath drained the tension from those broad, bowed shoulders. “Thank you, Qrow.”

“You’re welcome,” Qrow smiled.

“So… now that I’ve said my motivational affirmation for the evening, can I go back to sleep?”

“Really? After all that boasting about your ass, you’re just going to roll over and start snoring?”

Clover laughed, “I guess I could stay up just a little bit longer.”

“Good decision,” Qrow said.

\---xxx---


End file.
